Responsible Gambling Telephone Intervention to High-risk Gamblers by a State-owned Gambling Operator in Sweden.

NCT04646421 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: omsorgssamtal
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 3,626
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The present overall project evaluates an intervention carried out by the Swedish state-owned gambling operator AB Svenska Spel, in order to help high-risk gamblers reduce or quit their gambling. The intervention is a motivational telephone intervention, called by responsible gambling officers trained in motivational interviewing, and who call gamblers who are screened for suspected high-risk gambling practices either through the operator's own records, or because they have voluntarily taken a self-test indicating a hazardous gambling pattern. The present projects evaluates the effectiveness, user satisfaction and acceptability of the intervention, in two parts: 1) A retrospective, register-based follow-up of gamblers reached by the telephone intervention, in comparison to control individuals for whom attempts were made to carry out the same intervention, but who were never successfully reached on telephone. The effectiveness measures include potential changes in gambling level (frequency, level of wagering) post-intervention compared to pre-intervention, as well as occurrence of deposit limits, or voluntary self-exclusion. 2) A prospective web survey study involving individuals reached with the intervention from November, 2020, who - after receiving electronic written information and after providing informed consent - will answer a web survey around 10 days after the intervention, about their attitudes to the telephone intervention, and their self-reported gambling (on the same operator and on other gambling operators), self-limiting interventions and treatment seeking after the intervention. The study will provide important data on the effectiveness of this intervention aiming to reduce high-risk gambling practices, and will be able to study also the risk of gamblers transferring their gambling practices to other operators after a motivational intervention as the present one. Also, as acceptability and user satisfaction of the intervention are crucial for its success over time, these measures are also included in order to improve the understanding or how effective responsible gambling interventions can be implemented by gambling operators with a harm-reducing mission.

Conditions

Problem Gambling; Gambling Disorder

Keywords

problem gambling; gambling disorder; behavioral addiction; motivational intervention; COVID-19

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Change in gambling frequency.

  Change in wagering (any, and frequency) for each of the specific gambling types, during four weeks after the intervention, compared to the eight weeks prior to the intervention.

  4 weeks

• Change in money wagered

  Change in wagering (amounts) for each of the specific gambling types, during four weeks after the intervention, compared to the eight weeks prior to the intervention.

  4 weeks

• Change in money lost

  Change in losses for each of the specific gambling types, during four weeks after the intervention, compared to the eight weeks prior to the intervention.

  4 weeks

• Occurrence of any self-limiting intervention post-intervention

  Occurrence of deposit limits and voluntary self-exclusions post-intervention,during four weeks after the intervention, compared to the eight weeks prior to the intervention.

  4 weeks

• Change in wagering frequency in both the own operator and other operators

  Reduced wagering frequency for each of the specific gambling types, during the approximate 10-day period after the intervention, in gamblers reached with the intervention in the prospective study part (self-reported in survey sent on first business day 10 days after the intervention)

  10 days

• Change in wagering amounts in both the own operator and other operators

  Reduced wagering (amounts) and losses for each of the specific gambling types, during the approximate 10-day period after the intervention, in gamblers reached with the intervention in the prospective study part (self-report in survey sent on first business day 10 days after the intervention)

  10 days

• Change in gambling losses in both the own operator and other operators, in prospective study part

  Gambling losses (amounts) for each of the specific gambling types, during the approximate 10-day period after the intervention, in gamblers reached with the intervention in the prospective study part (survey sent on first business day 10 days after the intervention)

  10 days

• Occurrence of any self-limiting intervention after the intervention in prospective study part

  Occurrence of self-reported voluntary self-exclusions and help-seeking during the approximate 10-day period after the intervention in the prospective study part (self-reported in survey sent on first business day 10 days after the intervention)

  10 days

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Gambler's immediate perception of the call

  0 days

• Gambler's perception of the intervention

  10 days

• Gambler's perception of the intervention's effects on gambling

  10 days

Study Arms (3)

Motivational intervention - clients reached

Gamblers successfully reached with the motivational telephone intervention.

Behavioral: Motivational telephone intervention

Control group: clients not reached for the motivational intervention

Clients aimed to be reached for the same intervention, but who were not reached and therefore were not exposed to the intervention.

Prospective intervention group

Clients subject to the prospective study part (target N 200), who are successfully reached by the intervention from November, 2020, and who provide informed consent to the web survey study. Studied as a cohort without control group, but with the pre-intervention situation as their own control condition.

Behavioral: Motivational telephone intervention

Interventions

Motivational telephone intervention BEHAVIORAL

Motivational telephone intervention to high-risk gamblers, aiming to stimulate them to reduce gambling, quit gambling, or to seek peer support or treatment.

Motivational intervention - clients reached; Prospective intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Individuals who are gamblers and the AB Svenska Spel sub-section for sports and casino gambling, and who are screened as high-risk gamblers based on an objective measure from the operator or by a voluntary self-test taken by the gambler and indicating a high-risk gambling behavior. Study population retrospective study part: All individuals aimed for the telephone intervention September, 2019-April, 2020, comparing those who were successfully reached by the intervention, to the control individuals (not reached on telephone), Study population prospective study part: Individuals who are reached by the telephone intervention from prospective study start I November, 2020, and who receive a text message intervention 10+ days after the intervention (first business day 10 days after the intervention) and who provide informed consent to study participation.

You may qualify if:

• High-risk gambler as perceived by the high-risk gambling screen by the gambling operator (AB Svenska Spel) or by a voluntary self-test

You may not qualify if:

• None in the retrospective study. In the prospective study: failure to provide informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lund University: lead
• AB Svenska Spel: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Lund University

Lund, 221 00, Sweden

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Gambling; COVID-19

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Risk-Taking; Behavior; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders; Mental Disorders; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Anders Håkansson, PhD

CONTACT

+46 46 175596; anders_c.hakansson@med.lu.se

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 6, 2020
• First Posted: November 30, 2020
• Study Start: March 12, 2021
• Primary Completion: October 31, 2021
• Study Completion: November 30, 2021
• Last Updated: June 2, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

SE (1)